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Welding Career Fields?

11-17-2005, 10:34 PM

I am a High School Student that recently discovered the thrill of welding. I really enjoy it and I am starting to get pretty good at it. So I am considering going into welding as a career. I was just wondering if anyone could give me some info on the different options I would have and the different areas I should explore.

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A good field to get into is "non-destructive testing", i.e. testing welds with x-rays, etc. Closely related to the welding trade, without all the smoke and dust . It pays well and it makes a good transition up the career ladder from actual welding yet very hands on and interesting.

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I'm with jet A-1 look into going down the NDT road. Look at eddy current and MPI for an easy starting point. I used to be a PCN qualified NDT tech for an offshore company.Good rates of pay plus the chance to travel.

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Try A high end sign shop, not one that fabs outdoor billboards, too risky for new guy. Find a big one that embosses plastic they will fab up every kind of artsy crafty nightmare you can dream up. They use the three primary metals carbon, aluminium & stainless. Lots of pipe and structural work involved. lots of tig and plasma work, not to mention exposure to most high end metal working equipment, Great place to learn and the big boys in this industry are almost recession proof.

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great stuff to see a young bloke so keen to get into welding
we had the sad state to have to put a young fella off today at work because
he just didn't want to learn the trade we had put 12 months in to him and he still didn't want to learn 3 tradesmen took him aside and tryed to teach him the basic's the next day we were back to square one

I wish you well in following your goal I've been a welder for 30 yrs and still love it
people will put sh*t on you for being a welder but they always give you a call when they need something welded

I can't say much on the wages side as how welders are classed over there
to what they are here in Australia

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jobs range from working in production shops, job shops, food processing stainless shops, on site fabrication, construction, pipe welding and repair welding,
some students eventually end up owning their own business
(after lots of experience)

ITS A GOOD TIME TO BE A WELDER / FABRICATOR

just dont limit yourself to just welding
make sure you get trained in all the steps in "building stuff"
print reading, cutting, programming, forming, fit up, metallurgy, finishing, etc.

past welding instructor
CWI
business owner

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What are you into?
Decorative? Automotive? Structural?
Keep it fun! Try not to get trapped in production welding, and make sure to learn all the things that go with it. Bending, rolling, polishing, etc.
The metalwork field is huge and lots of interesting things to build and people to meet.

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Im more into the heavy equipment/decorative side of it. I agree with you I want to stay away from production because I dont want to get stuck doing the same stuff over and over again. I like change and doing new things thats why I want to stay in the Custom Fabrication area. And I hope to eventually be running my own business and getting into those aspects of it too.